Local
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GSD supports efforts to improve mail-in and in-person voting in NYC
The problems surrounding voting in the June 23 primary are now well-documented, especially for absentee voters. Some absentee ballots were never mailed out or not received in time; the instructions for returning the ballot were poorly marked on the return envelope; since postage was not required, postmarks were not applied by the USPS, meaning many ballots were invalidated because it could not be determined that they were mailed on time.
The State Legislature has passed some significant changes to election law over the past two years, but if the NYC Board of Elections can’t keep up with these changes then voters will be disenfranchised. We learned recently from State Senator Liz Krueger that the State BOE has drafted a package of recommendations for the City BOE to implement, but the City BOE has refused to meet to even consider these recommendations.
In advance of a hearing today with the NY Assembly and Senate, Grand Street Dems co-signed submitted testimony urging reform and improvement ahead of November’s important general election.
Letter-on-NYS-and-NYC-Elections-Process -
August 11 at 7:00 pm: Meet two more candidates for Manhattan D.A.
GSD AUGUST MEETING
Tuesday, August 11
7:00 pm
with D.A. candidates Alvin Bragg and Tahanie Aboushi
grandstreetdems.nyc/zoom-2020-08-11One of the most important 2021 races in New York City will be for Manhattan District Attorney. Incumbent Cyrus Vance is facing at least five challengers, and the protests around Black Lives Matter are shining a sharp spotlight on criminal prosecution in NYC.
We will meet two more candidates for Manhattan D.A. on August 11 — Alvin Bragg and Tahanie Aboushi.
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July 22 at 7:00 pm: Meet two candidates for Manhattan D.A.
GSD JULY MEETING
Wednesday, July 22
7:00 pm
with D.A. candidates Eliza Orlins and Janos Marton
grandstreetdems.nyc/zoom-2020-07-22One of the most important 2021 races in New York City will be for Manhattan District Attorney. Incumbent Cyrus Vance is facing at least five challengers, and the protests around Black Lives Matter are shining a sharp spotlight on criminal prosecution in NYC.
We will meet two of these candidates on July 22 — Eliza Orlins and Janos Marton.
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Some polling sites have been moved for Tuesday’s primary
If you live in East River, Hillman, or Amalgamated, your poll site has been moved for Tuesday’s primary.
You will be voting at P.S. 134 on East Broadway and Grand Street.
It’s really not far — if you still need to vote in person, please don’t let this change deter you!
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How to actually vote on the absentee ballot for June primary
Absentee ballots for the June 23 primary are now being mailed out. (If you haven’t yet sent in your application please do that online right now — voting absentee is the healthiest way to vote this year.)
You will get one very long ballot that is not easy to decipher — tons of empty space, candidates on both sides of the ballot, a list of presidential candidates, and then another long list of delegates pledged to support those presidential candidates.
Here’s what you need to know.
On ballot side 1, vote for Congress (A), Assembly (B), and President (C).
This should be straightforward, just make sure you see all the candidates.
A. If you are in Grand Street Dems, you are either in Congressional District 7 or 12. If you are in 7, GSD endorses Nydia Velázquez. If you are in 12, GSD endorses Carolyn Maloney.
B. GSD endorses Yuh-Line Niou for re-election.
C. GSD did not make an endorsement for President.
On ballot side 2, vote for Delegates to the Democratic National Convention (D).
This is where it starts to get confusing. The names here are people who want to go to the Democratic National Convention this summer to cast official votes for the party’s Presidential and Vice Presidential nominees. This is independent from your vote in (C) for President, but tied up with the overall vote for President in your Congressional District.
Huh?
Delegates pledged to a candidate will get selected in proportion to the percentage of votes their presidential candidate receives in each district (candidates need to clear 15% of the vote to get any delegates).
At its most basic level, if Joe Biden receives 50% of the vote in your district, then 50% of the delegates pledged to Biden will get selected to go to the convention. Which ones? The Biden delegates with the most votes out of all the Biden delegates.
You do not have to vote for delegates pledged to the candidate you voted for for President. You can vote for up to seven delegates if you are in Congressional District 7, and up to eight delegates if you are in Congressional District 12.
Place ballot in envelope #1, SIGN it, then put envelope #1 into envelope #2.
Even this part may be confusing. The envelope with your name on it and lots of other writing (“Official Absentee Ballot”) is where you seal up your ballot. You must sign and date the very bottom of the back of this envelope.
(Note: the part of the envelope that says “Official Absentee Ballot for” with lots of blanks does not need to be filled out, since this information is already printed to the left.)
Then you put that package into the slightly larger envelope (“Business Reply Mail”), and the whole thing goes in the mail.
You do not need to add postage. Ballots must be postmarked by June 22.
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Challenging Days & Nights
We miss you and wish we could ask you in person — How are you, really?
We have experienced so much loss, suffering, and isolation in the past three months of the Covid crisis, but this last week has been especially devastating, seeing Black people killed and threatened with little or no consequence, members of the NYPD escalating violence against protesters, and our mayor not doing enough to condemn and prevent those actions.
Grand Street Dems believes that Black Lives Matter and we strive to be anti-racist in our personal and political lives. This isn’t the work of one book or action, it is an ongoing effort. There is so much information being circulated right now, and we want to highlight a few of the many resources that are important for supporting the demonstrations happening all across the country, and for our own education and ally-ship.
New York City Bail Funds
Donate money to help get protesters out of jail, even more critical as we are still living with Covid-19. No amount is too small.
- The Liberty Fund: Learn more and donate
- Brooklyn Community Bail Fund: Learn more and donate
- Free Them All For Public Health: Learn more and donate/action
Anti-Racism Toolkit from Black Lives Matter
A vast reading list and loads of links to national organizations, including bail funds in cities all over the country.
- BLM Actions: Donate, Text & Call, Petitions
- Educate Yourself
- Anti-racism Resources (for white people)
- FAQ for Protestors
GSD does not exist without its members. Thank you all for joining and hosting our virtual meetings with elected officials. We will do more of those. The NY Primary is on June 23rd, and absentee ballots will be mailed out soon. If you misplaced your absentee ballot application, you can apply online. If you need help voting, please let us know. If you are in need of other assistance, please get in touch so we can direct you to the proper aid.
We wish you good physical and emotional health, and look forward to seeing you in person again.
In solidarity,
Caroline Laskow, Democratic District Leader